Cardholder



pl'll 20, 1954 R, s, K|NG 2,575,983

CARDHOLDER Filed Feb. 2o, 195o 2 sheets-sheet 1 Eig-I :inventorApri12o,1954 RS KWG 2,675,983

CARDHOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snoentor Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITEDSTATES TENT VOFFICEy 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a card holder and it is one object of theinvention to provide a card holder of such construction that it may bedetachably mounted against a side door or the door or closure for thetrunk of an automobile and advertising matter, or the like, prominentlydisplayed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a card holder consistingof a frame which has an open front closed by a sheet of transparentmaterial so that a card in the frame will be visible but shielded fromdamage by rain, snow, dirt, or the like, the marginal walls of the frameforming a hood which is hinged to the rear wall of the frame formovement to an opened or closed position, and the hood being providedwith an improved loclr for securing it in its closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means formounting the frame against the door of the motor vehicle consisting ofstrips which are slidable into and out of the frame through oppositeends thereof and at their outer ends carry hooks of such formation thatthey may be engaged with opposite side edges of the door and rmly gripthe same.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for guidingsliding movement ci the mounting strips and securing the same againstoutward movement to a position in which they would be liable toaccidently become detached from the edges of the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for holding theframe against the door while applying the hooks of the mounting stripsto edges of the door and also provide means for urging the mountingstrips inwardly and holding the hooks in engagement with the door whilethe securing means for the strips is being tightenea.

Another object of the invention is to provide a card holder wherein theframe in which a card is mounted is equipped with electric lightingmeans so that the card may be clearly seen at night. l v

Another object of the"A invention is to provide a card holder which issimple in construction, easy to apply or remove, and capable of beingmanufactured at low cost.

rIhe invention is illustrated'in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the improved card holder mountedagainst a side door of an automobile.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken vertically through the card holderalong the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the door engaging hooks and theouter end portion of the mounting strip carrying the hook.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view' taken horizontally through the card holderand the door.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner in whichthe hood of the frame is releasably held closed.

Fig. 6 is a View illustrating the manner in which mounting strips arebowed longitudinally to hold the card holder against the door or closurefor the trunk of an automobile.

The motor vehicle shown in Figure 1 and indicated in general by thenumeral l represents an automobile of conventional construction, thisautomobile being provided with the usual side doors 2 and with a reartrunk normally closed by a door which is not shown as it is aconventional element of the automobile.

The card holder is mounted against the outer surface of the door andconsists of a frame 3 which is open at its front and has a rear wall 4.and marginal walls which are formed separate from the rear wall andform a hood 5. This hood Yhas its lower wall 6 connected with the loweredge of the rear wall by hinges 'l and all of the walls have their outeredge portions bent inwardly to form a flange 8 against which a sheet 9of glass, or other transparent material is held by upper and lowerretainer strips IB. The upper wall Il of the hood is of greater widththan the lower wall 6 and its end walls l2 are gradually reduced inwidth towards their lower ends. Therefore the open front of the casingand the transparent sheet 9 are disposed at a vertical incline and whena person is looking at the frame a card I3 in the frame can be clearlyseen and writing and other advertising matter on the card easily read.This card is supported vertically in the frame by channeled strips ortracks M which are disposed in forwardly spaced relation to the rearedges of the marginal walls of the frame. Suction cups I5 which aresecured to the rear wall d by bolts I 8 project rearwardly from thecasing and serve as means for initially holding the frame in placeagainst the door of the automobile when the frame is applied to thedoor.

.After the frame has been applied to the door and angularly adjusted toa position in which it extends horizontally, it is tobe firmly securedso that it can not work loose and drop from the door. in order to do sothere have been provided mounting strips il which are formed of metaland are slidably passed through slots I8 formed in the end walls. Thesestrips are preferably formed of resilient metal so that they .3 mayextend in a straight line when extended, as shown in Figure 4, or beflexed longitudinally when extended, as shown in Figure 6. It will thusbe seen that the frame may he mounted against a door having a fiat outersurface or against a door or trunk closure which is formed with atransversely curved outer surface. The strips have portions Within thetrarne overlapped and these overlapped portions are formed withlongitudinally extending slots i9 which register with each other. A boitwhich is passed through the rear wall and welded thereto projectsinwardly of the frame and passes through the slots in the mountingstrips. When the nut 2l of this bolt is tightened binding pressure isapplied to the strips and they will be firmly held against longitudinalmovement. Outer ends of the mounting strips are bent to forni ears 22and close to these ears are mounted straps or bridges 23 with which areengaged the hooked ends of a helical spring 25. This spring extendslongitudinally of the iran/1e bach oi its Wall and when the strips aredrawn o' twardly the spring is stretched and its contr ion will urge thestrips inwardly. Hooks 25 are cerried by outer ends of the mountingstrips for engagement with side edges of the door to which the i ne isapplied. These hooks are or duplicate construction and each is formed asshown in Figure 3. Referring to this 'ligure it will be seen that thehook is formed of sheet metal and tapers towards its inner end. Theouter end portion ci the sheet metal blank from which the hook is formedis bent to form a bill 26 which engages about an edge portion of thedoor and the inner end potrion of the blank is bent to form a shank 2ifrom which projects a tongue iii. A bolt is passed through the shank 2iand the companion ear 22 and holds the hook securely to the outer end cithe mounting strip, the tongue 28 serving to prevent the hook fromturning about the bolt and moving out of longitudinal alignment with themounting strip. After the hooks have been applied to pposite edges oithe door and pull upon the hooks is relieved the spring draws themounting strips inwardly and holds the hooks in gripping engagement withthe door. The nut or the colt 20 is then tightened and the strips willhe prevented from moving outwardly to a position in which the hooks mayaccidently become disengaged from the door.

After the trarne has been to the door the hood is closed and secured bylock 30. This lock is mounted through the upper side wall of the hoodand is of a type requiring a hey 3l to move a core or shaft to areleasing position. The shaft or shank ci the lock is rectangular incross section, as shown in Figure 5, and upon this shank is mounted alatch which projects laterally from the shank and near its outer freeend is eut to form a recess a bill 34. lVhen the shank: is turned in onedirection the latch moved from the position indicated by dotted lines inFigure 5 to the operative position shown in full lines, and when thelatch in the operative or extended position, the free end portion of thelatch passes through an opening 35 formed in the rear wall and a portionof the rear Wall at one side of the opening is engaged. in the recess orslit 33 so that the bill 34 rmly holds the hood in its closed positionuntil the lock is actuated to move the latch to its releasing position.In order that the card mounted in the frame may be clearly seen at nightthere has heen provided an electric bulb 36 mounted in a socket 3i atthe top of the hood and supplied with current by wires 38 which extenddownwardly in the hood and outwardly through an opening 39 in the rearwall. It is understood that any number of lights desired may be mountedin the hood.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A support for a card-holding frame comprising flat inextensible exiblestrips slidable longitudinally of each other and of lengths adaptingthem to be passed through openings in opposite walls of the frame anddisposed with their inner ends in overlapping relation to each other;said strips having their overlapping portions formed with 25longitudinally extending registering slots; a bolt for supporting saidframe extending through said registering slots and adapted to be clampedto hold said strips against longitudinal movement; each said striphaving its outer end forme-d with a laterally extending ear; strapsadjacent outer ends of said strips.; a tension spring having its endssecured to said straps and urging said strips inwardly; hooks extendinglongitudinally from outer ends of said strips in axial oiset relationand having transversely enlarged bills at their outer marginal edges,for hooking over the edges of a vehicle door; the inner ends ci saidhooks being formed with laterally extending Shanks disposed in parallelrelation to companion ears on said strips; said companion ears andshar'rs having axially aligned bores through which bo extend; nuts forsaid bolts for drawing said co panion ears together into face to faceeng ment; and tongues overlaying the joint betwe .i

r said Shanks and ears and bearing upon said strips for aligning saidhooks.

References Cited in the :tile or" this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 554,091 Sears Feb. li, 1695 711,621 Ferguson Oct. 2l,i502 1,351,919 Levi Sept. 7, 1920 1,699,730 Woolf Jan.. 22, 1,705,381Snyder Mar. l2, i929 1,759,544 Croes May, 20, 3.93@ 1,885,282 ConnorNov. l, 1932 2,191,808 Schramm Feb. 27, i945 2,214,302 AKeller Sept. l0,1940 2,253,423 Fellers Aug. 19, ltel 2,372,967 Martin Apr. i9452,442,266 Davis May 25, 1949 2,494,179 King dan. l0, 1959 2,597,649Macbeth May 20, 1952

